Ben Simmons still doesn't get it
The latest news story offers more reminders of how little Ben Simmons understands his role in his current predicament
Part of me really doesn’t want to devote any more time to writing about Ben Simmons. I wasn’t planning on doing so, but then ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne released an article on the subject ahead of the trade deadline. Though I couldn’t read the entire piece as I refuse to subscribe to ESPN+, one paragraph did make the rounds on Twitter, and it is an eye-opening one.
“According to sources close to Simmons, he’s upset that (Joel) Embiid seemed to blame him for last season’s playoff loss, when Simmons did not blame Embiid for Embiid’s poor showing in the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors in 2019.”
There are no words I can use that can accurately portray how hilarious and confusing I find the above report to be.
Embiid admittedly wasn’t great in the seven-game series. At least not by the standard we hold him to. He averaged just 17.6 points a night on 37.0 percent shooting. He was banged up a lot, to the point where it felt like every night brought a new ailment.
And yet, that wasn’t the reason Philly lost that series. It wasn’t the primary Sixers storyline everyone was talking about after the game. That honor belonged to the fact that the Sixers were so incredibly god awful without Embiid on the court. Seriously, they cratered like no other team could, getting outscored by 109 points in the 99 minutes Embiid sat, compared to outscoring Toronto by 90 during his 237 minutes of playing time.
Simmons, comparatively, averaged 11.6 points and 4.9 assists per game in that series. In his defense, he was assuming an unfamiliar role with Jimmy Butler commanding more of the basketball, relegating Simmons off the ball to the dunker spot more often than not. Still, he was a -16. So… is he really one to point the finger at his teammate?
That tidbit of reporting from Shelburne underscores what I believe to be the driving force behind this entire Ben Simmons saga: He still doesn’t understand the role he’s played in bringing the situation to this point.
Every report that’s come out over the last god knows how long seems to have Simmons pointing the finger at someone else. He was mad at Embiid for essentially blaming last year’s Game 7 loss to Atlanta on him. He was mad at Doc Rivers for insinuating that he might not be a championship-calendar point guard.
I have a question: When is Simmons going to be mad at himself?
His limitations have hamstrung the Sixers time and time again. Every player has flaws in their game, but Simmons’ lack of shooting anywhere outside the paint, unwillingness to shoot anywhere outside the paint, and overall lack of offensive aggression are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And the worst part is that it honestly seems like he’s made no real effort to even take the first step towards fixing these glaring issues since entering the league in 2016. How else do you explain the 34 total 3-point attempts he’s taken in his four pro seasons?
That’s the biggest issue here. Simmons is more or less the same player today he was a few years ago, and the reality is that player isn’t good enough to power a legitimate title contender. Teammates, coaches, and the overall franchise can do their part to help fill in those gaps, but they can only do so much when the player in question, an All-Star expected to help carry the team, doesn’t seem willing to pull his weight and help himself in the process.
Shaquille O’Neal recently made headlines for comments directed towards Simmons on Inside the NBA in a comparison with Embiid following the 76ers’ win over the Lakers last Thursday. They may have been blunt and harsh, but they were also completely fair and true.
Shaq and Charles Barkley have been big critiques of Embiid over the years for one reason or another, most notably in Dec. 2019 after a win over the Nuggets.
“If you want to be good, keep doing 22 points,” O’Neal said of Embiid. “You want to be great, give me 28, give me 30. You want to be great, watch Giannis, he wants to be great.”
“Joel Embiid is a good player,” Chuck said. “It’s time for him to be a great player.”
Embiid not only immediately responded the following game with 38 points but has spent the last two seasons showing his growth from teetering the line between All-Star and superstar to becoming a yearly MVP candidate. He internalized the criticism, accepted it, and is better off because of it.
Does anyone believe Simmons can undergo a similar transformation? That he can motivate himself to do what critiques say he can’t? I just get the sense that he wants his situation to bend entirely to his desires instead of working to find a middle ground that acknowledges the reasonable needs of the team, such as attempting shots outside the restricted area or dunking the ball when you’re right at the rim instead of passing it off to a teammate.
That seems to be who Ben Simmons is. Someone who wants the world but doesn’t grasp the role he has to play to get it. That lack of foresight has gotten him to where he is now, missing out on millions of dollars while refusing to play, waiting for a trade that might never come.
If he doesn’t change that, I don’t know how much good a change of scenery will do.